Liberated Learning Partners in North America:
Messiah College, USA
Overview:
Messiah College is a private, Christian, liberal-arts college located in South Central Pennsylvania. Enrollment ranges from 2800-3000 students in 68 majors. Messiah College joined the project in 2003 after learning about Liberated Learning in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. A subsequent demonstration at IBM's research center near Tarrytown, New York confirmed the interest of key faculty and administration in utilizing speech-to-text technology to enhance the learning experience of students with disabilities.
Messiah College's participation is made possible by donors who personally experienced disability-discrimination as students. One donor was so impressed with the potential for deaf/hard-of-hearing students that he borrowed funds for his gift to assure Messiah's participation in Liberated Learning. Ironically, that donor quoted colonial author, Washington Irving at a donor's luncheon, only to learn later that it was near Irving's home and legendary town of Sleepy Hollow where Keith Drahn first saw Liberated Learning in action.
The College has worked actively to develop low-cost processes for electronic conversion of textbooks for students with reading-related disabilities. Other technology-related projects include use of hand-held PCs with students who lack organizational skills, and as portable text-to-speech devices for e-text-books.
Team members include Keith Drahn, Disability Services/Project
Director, John Bechtold, Professor of Psychology/Research
Coordinator, Ed Arke, Professor of Communications, Bob Kilmer,
Professor of Business Information Systems/notes manager and
Ryan Mark, Information Technology Services.
"There is within us a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of
prosperity, which is kindled to beam and to blaze in the darkness of adversity."
Washington Irving
Novelist and Historian
1783-1859
Contact:
Dr. Keith W. Drahn
Messiah College
Director of Disability Services
Campus Box 3019,
One College Ave
Grantham
PA 17027
Tel. 717-796-5387
Fax: 717-796-5217
Email: kdrahn@messiah.edu
Website: http://www.messiah.edu/
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